“These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace…” (v. 16) The foundations of our society must be: Truth, Justice and Peace. But what happens when two of these values are in conflict?

I t seems that today, truth and peace are almost always at odds, both in politics and personal matters. Israel stands firm on its biblical truth and its biblical rights, but in so doing prevents peace. Truth and peace are at odds. Either truth prevents a possible peace, or, for the sake of peace, we must abandon the truth.

Jewish scholars have long wrestled with the concept, asking questions like: “Where truth rules, there is no peace. Where peace rules, there is no judgement. And what judgment is truth where peace rules?”

How must Jesus’ words be understood in this context? In Matthew 10, he said: “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword!” Does Jesus use these simple words to point to the tension between truth and peace?

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