They were expecting a Political Savior that would deliver them from the Romans…
Why did the Jews expect a conquering rather than a spirital Messiah?
The way the Roman Empire developed, was gradually to take over more and more territories in the eastern Mediterranean. Some of these were governed as provinces. You can imagine the Roman Empire gradually taking over more and more areas as they conquered and progressively moved to the east. North Africa, Egypt, Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, Syria. And gradually, they also conquered Judea. In the process, they set up some as provinces, and some as client kingdoms. Judea happened to be one of these client kingdoms run by its own independent, or semi-independent, King. This is the person we know as Herod the Great.
For the ordinary people of the Jewish homeland, Rome was a kind of dominant political factor. Although they might not have seen Romans on a day-to-day basis, the imposition of Roman power was certainly there. In the case of the client kingdom, Judea, Herod's rule and Herod's forces would have been the political entity. But everyone knew that Rome was the power behind the throne. Everyone knew that Rome was the source of both the wealth and also the source of some of the problems that occurred in the Jewish state. So the political reality of the day was of a dominant power overseeing the life on a day-to-day basis.
The Maccabean Revolt
Jews under Ptolemaic rule
Theocracy and politics were intertwined in the 2nd century BCE in Jerusalem. The social structure of Jerusalem was run by the Jewish aristocracy such as the Priests and the High Priests. Although Hellenism, which had spread in the 3rd century BCE after Alexander's conquests, was the dominant culture around Judea and the Greek way of life pervaded the area, the Jewish community remained steadfast to their own practices. They largely ignored Hellenism and, under Alexander and the Ptolemies, were respected in doing so. The Ptolemies gave the Jewish people their civil rights and they lived contently under their rule.
The Holy Temple was the most important structure to the entire Jewish community in Jerusalem. It was the social and religious centre of the Jewish people, not to mention the economic benefits of trading in the Temple. More importantly, however, it was considered a sign of God’s presence amongst them. This feeling of the elect, the chosen ones, was crucial to the Jewish self-consciousness.