I have been the whipping boy more than once in various trials and have paid dearly for things I didn’t do and been humiliated and repudiated in situations where all I could do about it was grin and bear it. Was I “crucified”? Not literally, but figuratively, yes. So, it was a lot more humiliating than I was comfortable with and yes, I complained to God that I wasn’t a god and didn’t want to pay the price for someone else’s sin. But I had to anyway.
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4
The author is talking about imitating Christ’s virtues and becoming an earthly icon of his grace. He’s not talking in a New Age fashion.