What did Jesus mean when He said the fields are white unto harvest?
Jesus meant the harvest was not literal wheat or barley but mankind, ready for a spiritual harvest. The ripe grain pictures individuals being gathered, showing that people were prepared for a spiritual ingathering rather than an agricultural crop. He was speaking of a spiritual sort of harvest among humanity.
Les explains that the Old Testament grain harvest pictured something greater: a Jew would go into the field and pluck the ripened stems until he had enough to make a sheaf, then present it to the priest as a wave offering. That Old Testament picture comes to fruition in the New Testament. So the harvest Jesus spoke of is not just a grain harvest but a spiritual harvest. When Jesus told His disciples to look out on the fields, white unto harvest, He was not talking about wheat or barley; He was talking about mankind. Mankind was ready for a harvest of a spiritual sort. The ripening stems of grain picture individuals being gathered—nothing compared to the whole, but enough to make a sheaf.