Passage
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
John 13:35 (ASV)
Nearby Context
John 13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say unto you.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
John 13:36 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow now; but thou shalt follow afterwards.
John 13:37 Peter saith unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee even now? I will lay down my life for thee.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "shall", "disciples", "love", and "another". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "disciples", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 34's "A new commandment I give unto you..." into verse 36's "Simon Peter saith unto him Lord whither...", so "shall" and "disciples" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "disciples" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.