Passage
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it downe of my selfe: I haue power to lay it downe, and haue power to take it againe: this commandement haue I receiued of my Father.
John 10:18 (GNV)
Nearby Context
John 10:16 Other sheepe I haue also, which are not of this folde: them also must I bring, and they shall heare my voyce: and there shalbe one sheepefolde, and one shepheard.
John 10:17 Therefore doeth my Father loue me, because I lay downe my life, that I might take it againe.
John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it downe of my selfe: I haue power to lay it downe, and haue power to take it againe: this commandement haue I receiued of my Father.
John 10:19 Then there was a dissension againe among the Iewes for these sayings,
John 10:20 And many of them sayd, He hath a deuill, and is mad: why heare ye him?
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "taketh", "downe", "selfe", "haue", and "power". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "taketh" and "downe", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Therefore doeth my Father loue me because..." into verse 19's "Then there was a dissension againe among...", so "taketh" and "downe" 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 "taketh" and "downe" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.