John 10:38 (DBY)

Passage

but if I do, even if ye believe not me, believe the works, that ye may know [and believe] that the Father is in me and I in him.

Nearby Context

John 10:36 do ye say of him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am Son of God?

John 10:37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not;

John 10:38 but if I do, even if ye believe not me, believe the works, that ye may know [and believe] that the Father is in me and I in him.

John 10:39 They sought therefore again to take him; and he went away from out of their hand

John 10:40 and departed again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptising at the first: and he abode there.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "even", "believe", "works", and "father". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "even" and "believe", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "If I do not the works of..." into verse 39's "They sought therefore again to take him...", so "even" and "believe" 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 "even" and "believe" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.