Passage
A stranger they will never follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
John 10:5 (LSB)
Nearby Context
John 10:3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
John 10:4 When he brings all his own out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
John 10:5 A stranger they will never follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
John 10:6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.
John 10:7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "stranger", "never", "follow", "flee", "voice", and "strangers". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "stranger" and "never", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 4's "When he brings all his own out..." into verse 6's "This figure of speech Jesus spoke to...", so "stranger" and "never" 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 "stranger" and "never" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.