Passage
as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 10:15 (DBY)
Nearby Context
John 10:13 Now he who serves for wages flees because he serves for wages, and is not himself concerned about the sheep.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; and I know those that are mine, and am known of those that are mine,
John 10:15 as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 10:16 And I have other sheep which are not of this fold: those also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one flock, one shepherd.
John 10:17 On this account the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "sheep", "father", "knows", "down", and "life". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "father", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 14's "I am the good shepherd and I..." into verse 16's "And I have other sheep which are...", so "sheep" and "father" 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 "sheep" and "father" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.