Jesus' parable places a Pharisee and a tax collector at the Temple to pray. The tax collector stands at a distance, will not lift his eyes toward heaven, and beats his breast while asking God for mercy.
His posture communicates before the prayer is fully spoken.
Standing was a normal posture for prayer, while lifting the eyes toward heaven could accompany prayer to God. Lowered eyes can therefore express humility or shame. Beating the breast is a bodily gesture of grief, remorse, or anguish and appears again in Luke among the crowd returning from the crucifixion.
The Temple setting adds solemnity, while the tax collector's profession carries the poor social reputation associated with revenue collection.
The gestures help explain why Jesus' conclusion is so surprising. The tax collector offers no public record of achievement; his body and words present him as a sinner dependent upon mercy.
Jesus declares that this man goes home justified rather than the self-congratulatory worshiper. The social and bodily setting reinforces the parable's reversal of religious status.