Albert Barnes Commentary Acts 15:13

"And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me:" — Acts 15:13 (ASV)

James answered. James the Less, son of Alpheus. See Barnes on Acts 12:1.

Hearken unto me. This whole transaction shows that Peter had no such authority in the church as the Papists pretend, for otherwise his opinion would have been followed without debate. James had an authority not less than that of Peter. It is possible that he might have been next in age (compare 1 Corinthians 15:7), and it seems morally certain that he remained for a considerable part of his life in Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; Acts 21:18; Galatians 1:19; Galatians 2:9, 12).