Passage
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:35 (WEB)
Nearby Context
John 13:33 Little children, I will be with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come,’ so now I tell you.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.
John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you can’t follow now, but you will follow afterwards.”
John 13:37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "everyone", "disciples", "love", and "another". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "everyone" and "disciples", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 34's "A new commandment I give to you..." into verse 36's "Simon Peter said to him Lord where...", so "everyone" and "disciples" 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 "everyone" and "disciples" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.