Yehuda admitted that he had a relationship with Tamar, albeit unknowingly. That relationship produced the beginnings of Mashiach. Perhaps when a person admits to a wrongdoing, he can also have a personal “Mashiach.”
The entire yom tov of Chanukah is based upon the miracle of the menorah staying lit for 8 days long. It wasn't about the miracle per se, rather it was that it showed how beloved we are in Hashem's eyes.
Rav Shimshon Pincus z”l gives us an insight as to how the principle of the matter that you don’t do some things, is worse than actually doing a terrible act.
We see a distinct difference between Lavan and Yaakov. When one is so steeped in his bad ways, a terrible wicked person won’t change even the tiniest bit in the presence of a great tzaddik.