Actually Israel cried out for a King first....They got Saul...a mighty warrior he would be...but power went to his head and he ended up falling on his own sword.
There was ample Old Testament background for this impulse towards Jesus.
In the N.T. context, this would be the guy who unites Israel with power to send the occupying Romans packing. Because they wanted earthly glory.
And Jesus’ attitude was, don’t worry about the earthly glory. Get the heavenly glory right. That continues to exist even under the worst earthly conditions, precisely because it IS heavenly.