Passage
They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.”
John 10:5 (WEB)
Nearby Context
John 10:3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
John 10:4 Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
John 10:5 They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.”
John 10:6 Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn’t understand what he was telling them.
John 10:7 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "means", "follow", "stranger", "flee", "voice", and "strangers". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "means" and "follow", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Whenever he brings out his own sheep..." into verse 6's "Jesus spoke this parable to them but...", so "means" and "follow" 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 "means" and "follow" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.