Hi Greg,
You can see in Mark that they would have known of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist had been speaking of Him for quite some time.
Mark 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."
Mark 1:7 And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
v. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
v. 9 And it happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
v. 10 And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him.
v. 11 And there came a voice from Heaven, saying, You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
v. 12 And immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.
v. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan. And He was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him.
v. 14 And after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God,
v. 15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God draws near. Repent, and believe the gospel.
v. 16 And walking along beside the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
v. 17 And Jesus said to them, Come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.
v. 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
These events with John the Baptist were before Jesus began His ministry and was known by the disciples as it was recorded by Mark and so they had at the very least heard of Jesus, the coming Messiah from John the Baptist and they most likely would already seen Jesus too before He approached them.
Another thing Jesus Christ was God... even in the flesh I would think that He would have an 'influence' that was irresistible
mercy, peace and love
Kat