That mystery was shown to the world visible and invisible as Jesus was questioned by Pilate. Pilate asked, "What is truth". He asked it of Him in Whom all truth dwelt, but he saw Jesus the man, homo ecce. The veil, that mystery that shrouded the identity of Jesus God from Pilate was not opened to Pilate. Now we know, but Pilate could not have known. Pilate's wife had a dream and pled with him to have nothing to do with the trial of Jesus. Pilate may have asked Jesus what truth is because he sensed that there was something more to Jesus than that which appeared to him. Jesus answered Pilate's questions within the strictures of that which was prophesied, that which was ordained from before the world began. Pilate would not have guessed with coaching that the One Who sat before him had been ordained before the world began. Best guesses of Who sat before him and Who it was that he was asked to pass judgment upon would not have wrenched the mystery to be revealed before the appointed time. Jesus plainly told Pilate Who He Is but it was beyond the grasp of Pilate to fully perceive that which was told to him. Jesus had told many Who He Is and it only incurred their wrath against Him. The wrath of the princes of the world that day was wrought upon Him as He became sin for us. He became that which misses the mark, makes mistakes, falls into grief and trouble, sickness and disease, weak, and without defense. He became that which is stalked and hunted, hated and mocked, despised and abused, torn, and rejected beyond human bounds of evil harm and indecency. The depths of depression, despair, and hopelessness were given to Him to endure for our sake. Pilate did not seem to wholly accept the ruse of the dark world against Jesus and washed his hands of it ceremoniously. Somehow he perceived something amiss in the quiet of the moment as he was allowed to ask that which he wished of Jesus. Holding the authority of the Roman Empire in his hands Pilate tried to get the condemnation of his prisoner put off on Herod, the Sanhedrin, or the people.
The people beheld Jesus the man. Jesus had been scourged and beaten and was without rest and food since the day before. He is described as having been physically abused so that He was plainly weakened and in dire straits. He didn't look like anyone that had power or merit of any means whatsoever. The people shouted, "Crucify him". He was rejected by the world system through its representatives on hand. He was rejected by the people. He had no advocate from the world system nor the people. The mystery was still in place although the veil must have been thinned by His presence to Pilate for a fleeting second.
The governor said to them in reply, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They answered, "Barabbas!"
Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus called Messiah?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!"
But he said, "Why? What evil has he done?" They only shouted the louder, "Let him be crucified!"
When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to it yourselves."
And the whole people said in reply, "His blood be upon us and upon our children."
Matthew 27:21-24 NAB
On the way to Golgotha he was tormented and weakened to the point that someone from the crowd was called to help Him and carry the cross, Simon a Cyrenian who was from the country. Jesus was nailed to the cross, suffered on the cross excruciating pain, and then He died and was thrust through with a spear. He gave up His Spirit to the Father, by His will alone, for our sake and died. At that moment the mystery was revealed as being existent to the world, to the universe. The sky was darkening and troublesome as Jesus the man was dying. The chief priests had a great deal of fun out of the situation and were quite relieved to have Him off their backs. The people were celebrating and mocking Him as well, reminding Him that He had said He would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. They were sure that He was a liar and deserved every bit of the suffering that He was going through. The chief priests and the scholarly crowd of the scribes were enjoying the scene immensely. He had told them to their faces that they were snakes and full of corruption of the vilest kind, the rot of dead men's bodies. They said that He had "saved" others, what a joke it was to them. They suggested in a gloating fashion that He could not save himself mockingly inviting Him to come down off the cross, after all, He is the King of Israel. They had a good laugh from that no doubt. The world of the politicians and religious was sure to be undisturbed as things looked to them at the time and life would go on as it ever was. Some thought that He cried out for Elijah and were curious to see if Elijah would come to save Him. Some rushed to give him an herbal remedy for pain on a sponge. There were those who waited to see what might come of all of this, hoping to the end that He was Who He said He Is.
The dark forces of the invisible world were surely about the cross and its environs that day. One imagines that the stakes were high and there was some reason to think things might have been going well for them. They knew of the power that resided in the Son of Man and knew for a fact Who He Is. If nothing else their curiosity was about to be satisfied. One suspects that they were curious about the outcome and perhaps dominion might fall into their hands over all of mankind. Jesus is the LORD Sabaoth and He drove them from Heaven. They knew that He had the power to cast them into the abyss. They must have been able to see that Jesus the man was dying as well as anyone, but they could see Jesus God in some way too. It is not clear if they perceived what it meant wholly that Jesus God committed His Spirit to the Father on that day at that moment. The darkness was over the whole land. The testimony of Who He is came quickly after His death. It was not from one of the disciples, one of the religious, one of the scholarly, nor political. The disciples were not noted as outstandingly prominent that day among those in the crowd. John was standing there for awhile. Many women including His mother, Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Joses, and Salome are noted as being in the crowd closest to Jesus when He gave up the Ghost. They recognized Who Jesus Is and said with the centurion and others that Jesus is the Son of God. It is fitting that someone in the service of the Roman Empire announced His identity at this time or God would not have given him those words and that realization. Simon the Cyrenian was given the privilege of helping Jesus to bear His burden that day. He was a captive. Jesus had promised one of the thieves on a cross beside Him that he would be with Jesus in Paradise that day. This sinner who was lowest in the scheme of things on the earth received the gift of life. He was a captive in every sense of the word. The centurion was obligated by his office to serve the world system. He was a captive. Those held captive by the dark world system by birth and circumstance, sin and station in life stepped beyond the mystery unwittingly. Were they not all like some of us?