Polite or Frightened?

Mark 11:3

Sometimes in reading passages I get hung up on a phrase and can't seem to move past it.
So it is with the statement in verse 3 "If anyone ask you".  Four words that say volumes to
me and to you hopefully.

Jesus was talking to 2 of his disciples so he knew exactly what to say, how to say it, and
why  he was saying it.  We all have people in our lives that require us to word things carefully.  As children & youth we said to our parents at some point "but you said".  Yeah, we have a habit to take things literally, (when it suits our purpose of course), so we can have a little wiggle room to get out of things if we think it benefits us.  So I guess we are like the disciples in this way, they were human also.

Jesus knew their first question to him would be "what if they ask us why"?  It wasn't like they were afraid Emily Post would come out and chastize them for their bad manners.  No it was more about, even after all the time they had spent with Jesus, they were still fearful of "what people would say".  He calmed their fears and explain what they should do all at the same time.

Isn't that just like Jesus to take care of our questions before we ask them?

Thanks Jesus

Butch